Quartet / The Razor

Quartet was written by Heiner Muller after Christopher Hampton's Liasions Dangerous, which in turn was written after the novel, published in 1782 - Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Lacols. It was first produced about two years after Muller's Hamlet Machine. Set in the decedent era prior to the French Revolution, the Marquies de Merteuil (Felicity Steel) and the Vicomte deValmont (Andrew Grey) come together in a degrading sexually intimate game of power and control. Added to that mix, are strange contorted role plays, by each actor, that mirror gender.  This work has an insidious dark haunting nature.

The audience is placed to watch the actors from above as they play out a tango of their characters intimate knowledge of each other from a place of faded love that engenders jealous manipulation and unfettered cruelty particularly with regard to absent parties. As a game of one-up-man-ship and pre-ordained dance to the death Quartet is fascinating and disturbing.

It is extremely well produced and the set by Grant Cooper is inventive and challenging, though probably not particularly supportive of the actors who are continually turned in on themselves. As voyeurs, the audience is placed to be able to read each other’s response rather than gain a wholly visceral reading of the actors' work. 

The costumes by Julie Renton are evocative and swish.

Both actors are strong and convincing in their roles, they dance exquisitely and work extremely well together.

As the delivery is measured the work is greatly enhanced by being broken up with Razor - musical interludes that could be significantly extended as a searing juxtaposition. 

If you missed its first 'outing' as I did this is an excellent chance to catch this innovative and stylish work.

Suzanne Sandow

Photographer: Jeff Busby.